The NBA Finals is the annual championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference (prior to 1971 it was played between division playoff winners), except in 1950 when the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between the Western and Central Division champions. From 1946 through 1949, when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals.[1][2][3] The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which has been awarded since 1977 (between 1947 and 1976 the winning team received the Walter A. Brown Trophy).[4]

Champions

The most recent champions are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won their first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008, and their first since 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics. The Boston Celtics have won the most championships of any team in the league at 18.[5] As of 2025, the Eastern champions have a 41–38 advantage in NBA titles over the Western champions. The 1949–50 Minneapolis Lakers, who won the NBA Finals, are counted in the Eastern versus Western champions record as they played that sole season in the Central Division before returning to the Western Division.

Bold Winning team of the BAA/NBA Finals
Italics Team with home-court advantage
Italics Finals MVP was on losing team
† Only defunct team to win championship
Year Western champion Coach Result Eastern champion Coach Finals MVP[a] Ref
1947 Chicago Stags (1) (1, 0–1) Harold Olsen 1–4 Philadelphia Warriors (2) (1, 1–0) Eddie Gottlieb n/a [6]
1948 Baltimore Bullets† (2) (1, 1–0) Buddy Jeannette 4–2 Philadelphia Warriors (1) (2, 1–1) [7]
1949 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (1, 1–0) John Kundla 4–2 Washington Capitols (1) (1, 0–1) Red Auerbach [8]
1950 Minneapolis Lakers (1) [b] (2, 2–0) 4–2 Syracuse Nationals (1) (1, 0–1) Al Cervi [12][13]
1951 Rochester Royals (2) (1, 1–0) Les Harrison 4–3 New York Knicks (3) (1, 0–1) Joe Lapchick [14]
1952 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (3, 3–0) John Kundla 4–3 New York Knicks (3) (2, 0–2) [15]
1953 Minneapolis Lakers (1) (4, 4–0) 4–1 New York Knicks (1) (3, 0–3) [16]
1954 Minneapolis Lakers (1) (5, 5–0) 4–3 Syracuse Nationals (1) (2, 0–2) Al Cervi [17]
1955 Fort Wayne Pistons (1) (1, 0–1) Charles Eckman 3–4 Syracuse Nationals (1) (3, 1–2) [18]
1956 Fort Wayne Pistons (1) (2, 0–2) 1–4 Philadelphia Warriors (1) (3, 2–1) George Senesky [19]
1957 St. Louis Hawks (1) (1, 0–1) Alex Hannum 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (1, 1–0) Red Auerbach [20]
1958 St. Louis Hawks (1) (2, 1–1) 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (2, 1–1) [21]
1959 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (6, 5–1) John Kundla 0–4 Boston Celtics (1) (3, 2–1) [22]
1960 St. Louis Hawks (1) (3, 1–2) Ed Macauley 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (4, 3–1) [23]
1961 St. Louis Hawks (1) (4, 1–3) Paul Seymour 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (5, 4–1) [24]
1962 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (7, 5–2) Fred Schaus 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (6, 5–1) [25]
1963 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (8, 5–3) 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (7, 6–1) [26]
1964[c] San Francisco Warriors (1) (4, 2–2) Alex Hannum 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (8, 7–1) [27]
1965 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (9, 5–4) Fred Schaus 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (9, 8–1) [28]
1966 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (10, 5–5) 3–4 Boston Celtics (2) (10, 9–1) [29]
1967 San Francisco Warriors (1) (5, 2–3) Bill Sharman 2–4 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (4, 2–2) Alex Hannum [30]
1968 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (11, 5–6) Butch van Breda Kolff 2–4 Boston Celtics (2) (11, 10–1) Bill Russell [31]
1969 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (12, 5–7) 3–4 Boston Celtics (4) (12, 11–1) Jerry West [32]
1970 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (13, 5–8) Joe Mullaney 3–4 New York Knicks (1) (4, 1–3) Red Holzman Willis Reed [33]
1971 Milwaukee Bucks (1) (1, 1–0) Larry Costello 4–0 Baltimore Bullets (1) (1, 0–1) Gene Shue Lew Alcindor [34]
1972 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (14, 6–8) Bill Sharman 4–1 New York Knicks (2) (5, 1–4) Red Holzman Wilt Chamberlain [35]
1973 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (15, 6–9) 1–4 New York Knicks (2) (6, 2–4) Willis Reed [36]
1974 Milwaukee Bucks (1) (2, 1–1) Larry Costello 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (13, 12–1) Tom Heinsohn John Havlicek [37]
1975 Golden State Warriors (1) (6, 3–3) Al Attles 4–0 Washington Bullets (2) (2, 0–2) K.C. Jones Rick Barry [38]
1976 Phoenix Suns (3) (1, 0–1) John MacLeod 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (14, 13–1) Tom Heinsohn Jo Jo White [39]
1977[d] Portland Trail Blazers (3) (1, 1–0) Jack Ramsay 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (5, 2–3) Gene Shue Bill Walton [42]
1978 Seattle SuperSonics (4) (1, 0–1) Lenny Wilkens 3–4 Washington Bullets (3) (3, 1–2) Dick Motta Wes Unseld [43]
1979 Seattle SuperSonics (1) (2, 1–1) 4–1 Washington Bullets (1) (4, 1–3) Dennis Johnson [44]
1980 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (16, 7–9) Paul Westhead 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (3) (6, 2–4) Billy Cunningham Magic Johnson [45]
1981 Houston Rockets (6) (1, 0–1) Del Harris 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (15, 14–1) Bill Fitch Cedric Maxwell [46]
1982 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (17, 8–9) Pat Riley 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (3) (7, 2–5) Billy Cunningham Magic Johnson [47]
1983 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (18, 8–10) 0–4 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (8, 3–5) Moses Malone [48]
1984[e] Los Angeles Lakers (1) (19, 8–11) 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (16, 15–1) K.C. Jones Larry Bird [49]
1985 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (20, 9–11) 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (17, 15–2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [50]
1986 Houston Rockets (2) (2, 0–2) Bill Fitch 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (18, 16–2) Larry Bird [51]
1987 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (21, 10–11) Pat Riley 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (19, 16–3) Magic Johnson [52]
1988 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (22, 11–11) 4–3 Detroit Pistons (2) (3, 0–3) Chuck Daly James Worthy [53]
1989 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (23, 11–12) 0–4 Detroit Pistons (1) (4, 1–3) Joe Dumars [54]
1990 Portland Trail Blazers (3) (2, 1–1) Rick Adelman 1–4 Detroit Pistons (1) (5, 2–3) Isiah Thomas [55]
1991 Los Angeles Lakers (3) (24, 11–13) Mike Dunleavy 1–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (1, 1–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan [56]
1992 Portland Trail Blazers (1) (3, 1–2) Rick Adelman 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (2, 2–0) [57]
1993 Phoenix Suns (1) (2, 0–2) Paul Westphal 2–4 Chicago Bulls (2) (3, 3–0) [58]
1994 Houston Rockets (2) (3, 1–2) Rudy Tomjanovich 4–3 New York Knicks (2) (7, 2–5) Pat Riley Hakeem Olajuwon [59]
1995 Houston Rockets (6) (4, 2–2) 4–0 Orlando Magic (1) (1, 0–1) Brian Hill [60]
1996 Seattle SuperSonics (1) (3, 1–2) George Karl 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (4, 4–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan [61]
1997 Utah Jazz (1) (1, 0–1) Jerry Sloan 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (5, 5–0) [62]
1998 Utah Jazz (1) (2, 0–2) 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (6, 6–0) [63]
1999[f] San Antonio Spurs (1) (1, 1–0) Gregg Popovich 4–1 New York Knicks (8) (8, 2–6) Jeff Van Gundy Tim Duncan [65]
2000 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (25, 12–13) Phil Jackson 4–2 Indiana Pacers (1) (1, 0–1) Larry Bird Shaquille O'Neal [66]
2001 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (26, 13–13) 4–1 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (9, 3–6) Larry Brown [67]
2002 Los Angeles Lakers (3) (27, 14–13) 4–0 New Jersey Nets (1) (1, 0–1) Byron Scott [68]
2003 San Antonio Spurs (1) (2, 2–0) Gregg Popovich 4–2 New Jersey Nets (2) (2, 0–2) Tim Duncan [69]
2004 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (28, 14–14) Phil Jackson 1–4 Detroit Pistons (3) (6, 3–3) Larry Brown Chauncey Billups [70]
2005 San Antonio Spurs (2) (3, 3–0) Gregg Popovich 4–3 Detroit Pistons (2) (7, 3–4) Tim Duncan [71]
2006 Dallas Mavericks (4) (1, 0–1) Avery Johnson 2–4 Miami Heat (2) (1, 1–0) Pat Riley Dwyane Wade [72]
2007 San Antonio Spurs (3) (4, 4–0) Gregg Popovich 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (1, 0–1) Mike Brown Tony Parker [73]
2008 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (29, 14–15) Phil Jackson 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (20, 17–3) Doc Rivers Paul Pierce [74]
2009 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (30, 15–15) 4–1 Orlando Magic (3) (2, 0–2) Stan Van Gundy Kobe Bryant [75]
2010 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (31, 16–15) 4–3 Boston Celtics (4) (21, 17–4) Doc Rivers [76]
2011 Dallas Mavericks (3) (2, 1–1) Rick Carlisle 4–2 Miami Heat (2) (2, 1–1) Erik Spoelstra Dirk Nowitzki [77]
2012[g] Oklahoma City Thunder (2) (4, 1–3) Scott Brooks 1–4 Miami Heat (2) (3, 2–1) LeBron James [80]
2013 San Antonio Spurs (2) (5, 4–1) Gregg Popovich 3–4 Miami Heat (1) (4, 3–1) [81]
2014 San Antonio Spurs (1) (6, 5–1) 4–1 Miami Heat (2) (5, 3–2) Kawhi Leonard [82]
2015 Golden State Warriors (1) (7, 4–3) Steve Kerr 4–2 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (2, 0–2) David Blatt Andre Iguodala [83]
2016 Golden State Warriors (1) (8, 4–4) 3–4 Cleveland Cavaliers (1) (3, 1–2) Tyronn Lue LeBron James [84]
2017 Golden State Warriors (1) (9, 5–4) 4–1 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (4, 1–3) Kevin Durant [85]
2018 Golden State Warriors (2) (10, 6–4) 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers (4) (5, 1–4) [86]
2019 Golden State Warriors (1) (11, 6–5) 2–4 Toronto Raptors (2) (1, 1–0) Nick Nurse Kawhi Leonard [87]
2020[h] Los Angeles Lakers (1) (32, 17–15) Frank Vogel 4–2 Miami Heat (5) (6, 3–3) Erik Spoelstra LeBron James [89]
2021 Phoenix Suns (2) (3, 0–3) Monty Williams 2–4 Milwaukee Bucks (3) (3, 2–1) Mike Budenholzer Giannis Antetokounmpo [90]
2022 Golden State Warriors (3) (12, 7–5) Steve Kerr 4–2 Boston Celtics (2) (22, 17–5) Ime Udoka Stephen Curry [91]
2023 Denver Nuggets (1) (1, 1–0) Michael Malone 4–1 Miami Heat (8) (7, 3–4) Erik Spoelstra Nikola Jokić [92]
2024 Dallas Mavericks (5) (3, 1–2) Jason Kidd 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (23, 18–5) Joe Mazzulla Jaylen Brown [93]
2025 Oklahoma City Thunder (1) (5, 2–3) Mark Daigneault 4–3 Indiana Pacers (4) (2, 0–2) Rick Carlisle Shai Gilgeous-Alexander [94]

Records by franchise

Team Win Loss Apps Pct Year(s) won Year(s) lost
Boston Celtics 18 5 23 .783 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008, 2024 1958, 1985, 1987, 2010, 2022
Los Angeles Lakers[i] 17 15 32 .531 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1991, 2004, 2008
Golden State Warriors[ii] 7 5 12 .583 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022 1948, 1964, 1967, 2016, 2019
Chicago Bulls 6 0 6 1.000 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 —
San Antonio Spurs 5 1 6 .833 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014 2013
Philadelphia 76ers[iii] 3 6 9 .333 1955, 1967, 1983 1950, 1954, 1977, 1980, 1982, 2001
Detroit Pistons[iv] 3 4 7 .429 1989, 1990, 2004 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
Miami Heat 3 4 7 .429 2006, 2012, 2013 2011, 2014, 2020, 2023
New York Knicks 2 6 8 .250 1970, 1973 1951, 1952, 1953, 1972, 1994, 1999
Oklahoma City Thunder[v] 2 3 5 .400 1979, 2025 1978, 1996, 2012
Houston Rockets 2 2 4 .500 1994, 1995 1981, 1986
Milwaukee Bucks 2 1 3 .667 1971, 2021 1974
Cleveland Cavaliers 1 4 5 .200 2016 2007, 2015, 2017, 2018
Atlanta Hawks[vi] 1 3 4 .250 1958 1957, 1960, 1961
Washington Wizards[vii] 1 3 4 .250 1978 1971, 1975, 1979
Portland Trail Blazers 1 2 3 .333 1977 1990, 1992
Dallas Mavericks 1 2 3 .333 2011 2006, 2024
Baltimore Bullets (original) (folded in 1954)[viii] 1 0 1 1.000 1948 —
Sacramento Kings[ix] 1 0 1 1.000 1951 —
Toronto Raptors 1 0 1 1.000 2019 —
Denver Nuggets 1 0 1 1.000 2023 —
Phoenix Suns 0 3 3 .000 — 1976, 1993, 2021
Utah Jazz 0 2 2 .000 — 1997, 1998
Brooklyn Nets[x] 0 2 2 .000 — 2002, 2003
Orlando Magic 0 2 2 .000 — 1995, 2009
Indiana Pacers 0 2 2 .000 — 2000, 2025
Chicago Stags (folded in 1950) 0 1 1 .000 — 1947
Washington Capitols (folded in 1951) 0 1 1 .000 — 1949
Charlotte Hornets — — — — — —
Los Angeles Clippers — — — — — —
Memphis Grizzlies — — — — — —
Minnesota Timberwolves — — — — — —
New Orleans Pelicans — — — — — —
  1. Includes record as Minneapolis Lakers
  2. Includes record as Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors
  3. Includes record as Syracuse Nationals
  4. Includes record as Fort Wayne Pistons
  5. Includes record as Seattle SuperSonics
  6. Includes record as St. Louis Hawks
  7. Includes record as Baltimore and Washington Bullets
  8. Not affiliated with the present-day Washington Wizards, known as the Baltimore Bullets from 1963 to 1973.
  9. Includes record as Rochester Royals
  10. Includes record as New York and New Jersey Nets

Consecutive championships

Eight consecutive

Three consecutive

Two consecutive

Frequent matchups

Count Matchup Record Years
12 Boston Celtics vs Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers Celtics, 9–3 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2008, 2010
6 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers Lakers, 5–1 1950, 1954, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001
5 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks Lakers, 3–2 1952, 1953, 1970, 1972, 1973
4 Boston Celtics vs St. Louis Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) Celtics, 3–1 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961
4 Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers Warriors, 3–1 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
3 Detroit Pistons vs Los Angeles Lakers Pistons, 2–1 1988, 1989, 2004
2 Seattle SuperSonics (Oklahoma City Thunder) vs Washington Bullets (Washington Wizards) Tied, 1–1 1978, 1979
2 Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets Celtics, 2–0 1981, 1986
2 Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz Bulls, 2–0 1997, 1998
2 Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat Tied, 1–1 2006, 2011
2 Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs Tied, 1–1 2013, 2014
2 Boston Celtics vs San Francisco/Golden State Warriors Tied, 1–1 1964, 2022

See also

Notes

  1. The Finals MVP Award was first awarded in 1969.
  2. Minneapolis was the Central Division (now defunct, no relation to the current Central Division) playoff champion, while the Anderson Packers were the Western Division playoff champion.[9] Due to the NBA's realignment into three divisions,[10][11] the team with the best regular season record after the Divisional Finals advanced automatically to the NBA Finals, while the other two teams faced off in the NBA Semifinals to determine the other finalist. Eastern Division playoff champion Syracuse had the best regular season record among the division playoff champions, causing Minneapolis to face Anderson in the NBA Semifinals.[9][12]
  3. The trophy was renamed for Walter A. Brown.
  4. The trophy was replaced by a new design.[40][41]
  5. The trophy was renamed for Larry O'Brien.
  6. After a lockout, the season started on February 5, 1999, and all 29 teams played a shortened 50-game regular season schedule.[64]
  7. After a lockout, the season started on December 25, 2011, and all 30 teams played a shortened 66-game regular season schedule.[78][79]
  8. The conclusion of the 2019–20 NBA season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finished in October 2020 during the bubble tournament.[88]

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